The blog formerly known as Holistic Learning ... Enki and Waldorf Homeschooling

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

A Few Things...

We have been easing back into our rhythm. It's amazing how much vacation can throw you off, especially two vacations in the same month. Teacher burnout was a factor too; well, more like homemaker burnout than teacher burnout. The lessons I can plan and engage in; it's the homekeeping that can push me over the edge.

So this week we've slowed down and honed in on some basic goals. Flow with the daily and weekly rhythm. Accomplish the morning main lesson and the afternoon practice time. Cook three meals a day. Get groceries. Keep up with laundry. Everything else is gravy, and already we seem to be swimming in quite a bit of it.

On the Enki front, I never know when J-Baby will participate and when he won't. Monday he jumped right in and sang all of our circle songs, yesterday he didn't, today he did. They were the same songs! He enjoys the lighting of the candle, and blows it out of it is his turn, but he rarely participates in the verse (but today he did).

This is the hard part of having two children close in age and trying to teach them together. He's 6 years and 3 months; were he an only child or even the oldest we'd just be starting grade 1. In fact, we'd probably wait until Fall.

What is obvious to us (Papa pointed it out last night), is that while J-Baby is really bright, using complex language and vocabulary, and spending hours analyzing everything, the whole reading thing isn't clicking for him. He can memorize sight words, but the word families have yet to grab him. Not visually, at least. Also, all of a sudden he doesn't remember letter sounds. It's tough...I don't know if he isn't ready or if he is just being obstinate. He is always willing to work with math, so I am leaning toward thinking he isn't quite ready. But he also has a tendency not to want to do anything I want him to do, be it getting dressed, picking up toys, eating dinner, etc. It also seems to me that second children very often try to find ways to differentiate themselves from their older sibling (in my family's case it was my younger sister trying to be very different than I was, even though we are the 3rd and 4th child, respectively).

Still, this is the path we have chosen. In an Enki school there would be children of various ages and abilities in the same classroom. I will continue to expose him to language arts and to work with him, but I won't push. It is hard though! T-Guy wants to practice word families so we do. Then J-Baby will want to practice too, but will stare at the card and me and say "I don't know." I don't understand why he wants to practice when he isn't even trying.

I'm going to continue to note my observations, and then I will probably schedule a consult with Beth before I start planning grade 2.